Positional correction relative-flag structure of cartridge storage rack in library apparatus, and library apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present invention is for realizing the improvement of the cartridge storage efficiency and size reduction of a library apparatus by installing relative flags using cells of a storage rack to suppress the increase in the installation area or volume of a locker resulting from the installation of the relative flags, and further for shortening the time required for the initial operation of an accessor. For these purposes, a positional correction relative-flag structure of the cartridge storage rack is equipped with a body section which is inserted into the cell of the storage rack to be brought closely and fixedly into contact with the cell, and a relative flag to be read out by an sensor on the accessor side for the correction of the position of the storage rack is attached to an end surface of the body section. This invention is applicable to a large-capacity external storage memory storing a large number of cartridges such as magnetic tape cartridges and optical disk cartridges.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a library apparatus which stores alarge number of cartridges such as magnetic tape cartridges and opticaldisk cartridges, and which transfers the cartridges through an accessorto a deck for processing a storage medium accommodated within each ofthe cartridges, and more particularly to a relative flag structure forcorrecting the position of the storage rack with respect to theaccessor, and further to a library apparatus including a relative flag.

2) Description of the Related Art

In general, a library apparatus functions as a large-capacity externalstorage memory, and a storage rack in its locker stores severalthousands of cartridges each accommodating, for example, a magnetic tapeas a storage medium, and access such as write/read of recording/recordeddata is automatically done in relation to the storage medium within eachof the cartridges.

Furthermore, the library apparatus is equipped with the aforesaidstorage unit for storing the cartridges, a plurality of magnetic tapedecks (which will be referred hereinafter to as decks) for conductingaccess such as write/read of recording/recorded data with respect to astorage medium (magnetic tape) within a cartridge, and an accessor(cartridge transferring robot) for performing the conveyance of thecartridges between the storage rack and the decks.

Commonly, this library apparatus is made up of a storage unit having astorage rack for storing a large number of cartridges, a drive unitincorporating decks, an accessor unit functioning as a garage foraccessors, a unit including a controller or the like for controlling theaccessors, and other units.

Each of these units is constructed as being one locker, and thearrangement of the whole library apparatus relies on the connectionsamong a plurality of lockers (units). In addition, with the plurality oflockers being in connection, a traveling passage for the accessors isdefined in these lockers to penetrate them.

In the library apparatus thus arranged, in response to an access requestto one cartridge from a host unit or the like, the accessor travelswithin the passage to come to the storage rack to search a directingcartridge there, and subsequently, a hand mechanism grips that cartridgeand transfers it to the deck for insertion into the deck.

With these operations, in that deck, given processing is done inrelation to the storage medium (magnetic tape) within the insertedcartridge. After the completion of the processing, the cartridgedischarged from the deck is again gripped by the hand mechanism andconveyed by the accessor up to the storage rack to be stored at a givenposition.

In a prior art, for allowing the accessor to accurately detect theposition of each of cells of the storage rack storing a large number ofcartridges, relative flags (for example, see reference numeral 72 in theupper section of FIG. 30) prepared separately from the storage rack havebeen placed at at least three portions on both sides of the storage rackin the storage unit.

At the initial operation, the accessor reads out the aforesaid relativeflags to detect the position of the whole storage rack to recognize thecompartments of all the cells as a plane, and establishes meshes, whosenumber is equal to the number of the cells, to retain the centercoordinates of the compartments of the respective cells as a table.Thereafter, the accessor reads out the center coordinate of thecompartment of a given cell, thereby carrying out theinsertion/extraction operations of a cartridge in relation to that givencell.

However, as shown in the upper section of FIG. 30, when the relativeflags 72 are located at both sides of the storage rack 13, theinstallation area, i.e., volume, of the locker (storage unit) increasesto impair the cartridge storage efficiency in the library apparatus,which refuses the requirements for the size reduction of the libraryapparatus. In addition, at the initial operation, the distance that theaccessor 7 travels among a plurality of relative flags increases, withthe result that the initial operation takes a longer time.

In the prior library apparatus, a dedicated cartridge delivering andreceiving mechanism is provided at every deck, and theinsertion/extraction of the cartridge into/from the deck are donethrough the use of this cartridge delivering and receiving mechanism.That is, the accessor is not made to directly carry out theinsertion/extraction of the cartridge into/from the deck.

Recently, for the purpose of the size and cost reduction of the libraryapparatus, requirements have arisen for enabling the accessor todirectly conduct the insertion/extraction of the cartridge with respectto the deck without the interposition of the cartridge delivering andreceiving mechanism. For meeting the requirements, in addition toenhancing the control accuracy of the hand mechanism of the accessor,the high-accuracy positioning relative to the deck is essential, and theerror correction at the initial step (initial operation) becomesunavoidable, and even attention should be paid to the shortening of thetime taken for the initial operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed with a view to eliminatingthese problems, and it is therefore an object of this invention torealize the improvement of the cartridge storage efficiency and sizereduction of a library apparatus by installing relative flags usingcells of the storage rack to suppress the increase in the installationarea or volume of the locker resulting from the installation of therelative flags, and further to provide a positional correctionrelative-flag structure for a library apparatus and a library apparatuswhich are capable of shortening the time required for the initialoperation of the accessor.

For this purpose, in accordance with the present invention, in a libraryapparatus including a storage rack for storing cartridges eachaccommodating a storage medium, a deck for carrying out access to thestorage medium within the cartridge, and an accessor for transferringthe cartridge between the storage rack and the deck, a positionalcorrection relative-flag structure of the storage rack is used forcorrecting a position of said storage unit with respect to said accessorand is equipped with a body section which is inserted into a cell of thestorage rack to be brought closely and fixedly into contact with thecell, and a relative flag to be read out by a sensor on the accessorside for correction of the position of the storage rack is attached toan end surface of the body section. In this case, it is also appropriatethat the relative-flag structure includes a biasing mechanism forbiasing the body section toward the cell.

Furthermore, in accordance with this invention, a library apparatuscomprises a storage unit for storing cartridges each accommodating astorage medium, a deck for carrying out access to the storage mediumwithin the cartridge, and an accessor for transferring the cartridgebetween the storage rack and the deck, wherein the storage unit isprovided with a relative flag used for correction of the position of thestorage rack with respect to the accessor.

In the positional correction relative-flag structure of the cartridgestorage rack thus arranged according to this invention, since the bodysection having the relative flag is inserted into the cell of thestorage rack to be brought closely and fixedly into contact therewith,the relative flag can be set through the use of the cell of the storagerack, thus suppressing the increase in the locker installation area orvolume to be caused by the disposition of the relative flags.

At this time, if the body section is biased by the biasing mechanism tobe placed closely into contact with the cell, the body section. i.e.,the relative flag, can be positioned with respect to the storage unitwith a high accuracy.

Furthermore, in the library apparatus thus arranged according to thisinvention, the relative flag is provided in the storage rack, whichsuppresses the increase in the locker installation area or volumeresulting from the disposition of the relative flag.

In the positional correction relative-flag structure of the cartridgestorage rack in the library apparatus according to this invention, sincethe body section having the relative flag is inserted into the cell ofthe storage rack to be brought closely and fixedly into contact with thecell and the relative flag is disposed using the cell of the storagerack, the increase in the locker installation area or volume resultingfrom the disposition of the relative flag is suppressible not only tosharply enhance the cartridge storage efficiency but also to accomplishthe size reduction of the library apparatus. Besides, the distancebetween a plurality of relative flags can be shortened as compared witha prior art, thus remarkably reducing the time necessary for the initialoperation of the accessor.

Moreover, through the use of the biasing mechanism, the body section isbiased to be brought closely into contact with the cell so that the bodysection. i.e., the relative flag, is accurately positioned relative tothe storage unit, and therefore, it is possible to insure the dimensionbetween the relative flag and the compartment of the storage unit.

Still further, in the library apparatus according to this invention,since the relative flag is provided in the storage rack, the increase inthe locker installation area or volume resulting from the disposition ofthe relative flag is suppressible not only to sharply enhance thecartridge storage efficiency but also to accomplish the size reductionof the library apparatus. In addition, the distance between a pluralityof relative flags can be shortened as compared with a prior art, thusremarkably reducing the time needed for the initial operation of theaccessor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a structuralexample of a library apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are respectively a plan view and a side elevational view(illustration of a portion pointed out by an arrow IIb) eachillustratively showing another structural example of the libraryapparatus according to the embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an cartridge in this embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view showing an accessor in thisembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a partially broken exploded perspective view showing a lockerframe structure in this embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing welded sections of the locker framestructure in this embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a locker in this embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view showing a locker (CSU) in thisembodiment;

FIG. 9 is an illustration taken along a line IX--IX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a principal portion ofthe locker (CSU) for describing a cable duct structure in thisembodiment;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are respectively a plan view and a side elevationalview (an illustration of a portion indicated by an arrow XIb of FIG.11A) each showing an end portion of a rack support (a supporting member)in this embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the end portions of the racksupports disposed to be adjacent to each other for explaining aninter-locker positioning way based upon the rack supports;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a connecting section of a locker,in a state of looking upwardly from its inner side, for explaining aplane reference plate and a top rail connecting section in thisembodiment;

FIGS. 14A and 14B are illustrations useful for describing a positioningway based upon the plane reference plate;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustratively showing a locker fordescribing a method of adjusting the verticality of a locker in thisembodiment;

FIGS. 16A to 16C are respectively a front elevational view, a sideelevational view (an illustration of a portion indicated by an arrowXVIb in FIG. 16A) and a plan view (an illustration of a portion pointedout by an arrow XVIc in FIG. 16A) each showing a position flag and itsfitting structure in this embodiment;

FIGS. 17A to 17C are respectively a front elevational view, a sideelevational view (an illustration of a portion indicated by an arrowXVIIb in FIG. 17A) and a plan view (an illustration of a portion pointedout by an arrow XVIIc in FIG. 17A) each showing a tie plate and itsconnecting condition in this embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustratively showing a locker (AEU)having a shelf in this embodiment;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are an exploded perspective view showing a fittingstructure of a shelf for a back panel and a cross-sectional view showinga principal portion for explaining a fitting condition of the backpanel, respectively;

FIG. 20 is a side elevational view showing a locker (LAU) equipped witha reference flag and a diagnostic cell in this embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a front elevational view (an illustration taken along a lineXXI--XXI of FIG. 20) showing the locker (LAU) including the referenceflag and the diagnostic cell in this embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a plan view (an illustration taken along a line XXII--XXII ofFIG. 20) showing the interior of the locker (LAU) including thereference flag and the diagnostic cell in this embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a front elevational view showing the reference flag and thediagnostic cell in this embodiment;

FIG. 24 is an illustration of a portion indicated with an arrow XXIV inFIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is an illustration of a portion indicated with an arrow XXV inFIG. 23;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing an outline of the reference flagand the diagnostic cell in this embodiment;

FIGS. 27A to 27C are respectively a plan view, a side elevational view(an illustration of a portion indicated by an arrow XXVIIb in FIG. 27A)and a front elevational view (an illustration of a portion indicated byan arrow XXVIIc in FIG. 27A) each showing a relative flag structure forthe positional correction of a cartridge storage rack in thisembodiment;

FIG. 28 is a side elevational view showing a state where the relativeflag structure for the positional correction is placed within a cell ofthe cartridge storage rack;

FIG. 29 is a front elevational view showing the state where the relativeflag structure for the positional correction is placed within the cellof the cartridge storage rack; and

FIG. 30 is an illustration available for describing the cartridgestorage efficiency improving effects attainable by the use of thepositional correction relative flag structure in this embodiment bymaking a comparison with a prior structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinbelowwith reference to the drawings.

[1] Description of Entire Arrangement of Library Apparatus

First of all, referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a description will be madehereinbelow of the entire arrangement of a library apparatus accordingto an embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a structuralexample of a library apparatus according to the embodiment of thisinvention, FIGS. 2A and 2B are plan and side elevational viewsillustratively showing another structural example of the libraryapparatus according to the embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 3 is aperspective view showing a cartridge to be handled in the libraryapparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 2B corresponds to anillustration of a portion indicated by an arrow IIb in FIG. 2A.

Both the FIG. 1 library apparatus 1 and FIG. 2A, 2B library apparatus 1'store a large number of magnetic tape cartridges 10 (see FIG. 3;cartridges each accommodating a magnetic tape as a storage medium; whichwill be referred hereinafter to as a cartridge), and carry out accesssuch as write/read of recording/recorded data in/from each of themagnetic tape cartridges 10.

The library apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of an accessor unit[which will be referred hereinafter to as an RAU (Right Accessor Unit)]2B, an accessor terminal [which will be referred hereinafter to as anLAT (Left Accessor Terminal)] 3, left and right cartridge storage units(which will be referred hereinafter to as CSUs) 4, 4, and a tape drivemount unit (which will be referred hereinafter to as a TMU) 5, which arein a connected relation to each other. Also included in the apparatus 1is one accessor (cartridge transferring robot) 7 which travels withinthese units 2B and 3 to 5 to transfer the cartridge 10. FIG. 1 shows astate where an outer wall surface of the left-side CSU 4 is broken sothat the interior of the CSU 4 is looked into from the external.

On the other hand, the library apparatus 1' shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B ismade up of two left and right accessor units (which will be referredhereinafter to as LAU, RAU, respectively) 2A, 2B, two left and rightCSUs 4, 4, a TMU 5 and an accessor extend unit (which will be referredhereinafter to as an AEU) 6 which are in a coupled relation to eachother. Further included in the apparatus 1' are left and right accessors7 which travel within these units 2A, 2B and 4 to 6 to transfer thecartridge 10.

The LAU 2A and RAU 2B function as garages for the accessors 7,respectively, and on the front side of the RAU 2B (the external spaceside, that is, the side where the operator operates the apparatus), asshown in FIG. 1, there are provided a pair of upper and lower cartridgeentry/exit stations [each of which will be referred hereinafter to as aCAS (Cartridge Access Station)] 14, 14 for carrying out the entry orexit of the cartridge 10 into or from the library apparatus 1. In FIGS.2A and 2B, the CASs 14 are omitted from the illustration. In addition,the LAY 2A and the RAU 2B are equipped with a cartridge forced exitstation (which will be referred hereinafter to as an FES; see referencenumeral 15 in FIGS. 20 and 21) which is designed to forcibly discharge adefective cartridge to the external.

Each of the CSUs 4 is for storing a large number of cartridges 10, andas shown in FIG. 1, an inner wall surface of the CSU 4 bears a storagerack 13 comprising a large number of cells 13a for storing thecorresponding number of cartridges 10 and the accessor 7 one by one putsthe cartridges 10 coming from the CAS 14 or a DEE (which will bementioned below) in the respective cells 13a.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, although not shown, the CSU 4 can beprovided with a plurality of cartridge direct entry/exit stations (eachof which will be referred hereinafter to as a DEE), and in each of theDEEs, a magazine storing a plurality of cartridges 10 is set in order topermit the simultaneous entry or exit of the plurality of cartridges 10into or from the library apparatus 1 or 1'.

The TMU 5 has a plurality of magnetic tape decks (recording/reproductionunits, MTUs; which will be referred hereinafter to as decks), and eachof the decks conducts, for example, the write/read processing ofrecording/recorded data onto/from a magnetic tape within the cartridge10 transferred by the accessor 7.

As will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 18, the AEU 6includes a power source 16 (see FIG. 18) for supply of an operatingpower to the accessor 7 and a controller 17 (see FIG. 18) for taking thecharge of control of the accessors 7.

The LAT 3 is, as shown in FIG. 1, a locker installed at a left endportion of the library apparatus 1 in the case of taking a systemarrangement with no AEU 6.

Each of the above-described units 2A, 2B and 3 to 6 is made as being alocker 20 which will be described herein later with reference to FIGS. 5to 7, and each of the library apparatus 1 and 1' is constructed bycoupling the lockers 20 organizing given units to each other.

Furthermore, formed in each of the library apparatus 1 and 1' is atraveling passage (accessor passage) 9 for the accessors 7 whichpenetrates the units 2A, 2B and 3 to 6.

Still further, in a lower section of the passage 9, a rail (X rail) 8for guiding the lower section side of the accessor 7 along the unitcoupling directions (in the description below, also referred to aslocker coupling directions) is laid in a state of being supported by arack support 11, which allows the accessor 7 to move within the passage9. Besides, in an upper section (the lower surface of a top board 22;see FIG. 5 or 8) of the passage 9, a top rail 12 is installed to guidethe upper section side of the accessor 7 along the unit couplingdirection within the passage 9.

As shown in FIG. 1, in addition to a hand mechanism 7d for holding thecartridge 10 to perform the insertion/extraction thereof, the accessor 7involves a carriage 7b movable in the horizontal directions along the Xrail 8 for moving a hand assembly 7a including this hand mechanism 7d upto a given position and a vertical column 7c for vertically guiding thehand assembly 7a on the carriage 7b.

For the description of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, theunit coupling direction is taken to be an X direction (the left or rightdirection in FIG. 2A), the front to rear direction of the units is takenas a Z direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2A, the left or rightdirection in FIG. 2B), and the vertical direction of the units is takenas a Y direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2B).

In the library apparatus 1 or 1' thus constructed, the cartridge 10 fromthe CAS 14 or the DEE is gripped and taken out one by one by the handmechanism 7d of the accessor 7 and is inserted into and stored in agiven cell 13a of the storage rack 13 after being carried through thepassage 9 by the accessor 7.

Furthermore, of a large number of cartridges 10 stored in the cells 13aof the storage rack 13, a cartridge(s) 10 specified by a host unit isgripped and pulled out by the hand mechanism 7d of the accessor 7 andthen transferred by the accessor 7 through the passage 9 to a given deckof the TMU 5 to be inserted thereinto.

In the deck, after the recording/reproduction processing on/from themagnetic tape housed in the cartridge 10, the cartridge 10 stayingwithin the deck is discharged therefrom and gripped and taken out by thehand mechanism 7d of the accessor 7 and subsequently inserted into andstored in a given cell 13a of the storage rack 13 by the accessor 7after passing through the passage 9.

Incidentally, for discharging the cartridge(s) 10 stored in the storagerack 13 to the exterior of the library apparatus 1 or 1', the cartridge10 to be discharged is gripped by the hand mechanism 7d of the accessor7 to be taken out from the storage rack 13 and then transferred throughthe passage 9 to the CAS 14 or the DEE by the accessor 7 to be insertedinto a given position (cell) of the CAS 14 or the DEE.

[2] Description of Accessor

Secondly, referring to FIG. 4, a brief description will be takenhereinbelow of an arrangement of the accessor 7.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view showing the accessor 7 in thisembodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the accessor 7 is, as mentioned before,composed of the hand assembly 7a including the hand mechanism 7d, thecarriage 7b and the vertical column 7c.

The hand assembly 7a is constructed in such a manner as to place apicker section 7g including the hand mechanism 7d through a tilt base 7fon a supporting base 7e. The hand mechanism 7d is mounted on the pickersection 7g to be movable in the forward and backward directions, and issliding-driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) in the forward andbackward directions.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the angles to be taken at theinsertion/extraction of the cartridge 10 differ from each other amongthe units and there is a need to change the cartridgeinsertion/extraction angle by the hand mechanism 7d, the picker section7g is swingably fitted to the tilt base 7f and is swingingly driven by atilt mechanism (not shown) so that the angle of the cartridgeinsertion/extraction direction is adjustable with respect to ahorizontal plane.

For instance, as the cartridge insertion/extraction directions (angle)of the hand mechanism 7d in the embodiment, there are taken twodirections: a horizontal direction (0°) and a direction looking downwardby a given angle with respect to the horizontal direction. In the caseof the deck of the TMU 5, the cartridge 10 is commonly inserted andpulled out into/from the horizontal direction (0°). On the other hand,in the case of the storage rack 13 of the CSU 4 or the like, thecartridge 10 is stored in a condition looking (inclined) downward (forexample, by 12°) relative to the horizontal direction to prevent themfrom dropping from the cells 13a of the storage rack 13 due to thevibrations caused by earthquakes and others, and therefore, theinsertion and extraction of the cartridge 10 is made at that angle.

Still further, the hand mechanism 7d, the picker section 7g and the tiltbase 7f are mounted onto the supporting base 7e to be revolvable aroundvertical shafts by a drive mechanism (not shown).

The supporting base 7e constituting the hand assembly 7a is mounted ontothe vertical column 7c to be slidable up and down while being guided bya guide rail 7h installed vertically along the vertical column 7c. Inaddition, the supporting base 7e is coupled to a belt (not shown; a beltwound around a pair of upper and lower pulleys incorporated into upperand lower locations of the vertical column 7c). On rotationally drivingthis belt by a belt elevating drive motor 7i, the supporting base 7e,that is, the whole hand assembly 7a, is shifted up and down to bepositioned at a given height.

The carriage 7b is integrally connected to a lower end side of thevertical column 7c to travel along the X rail 8 while supporting thevertical column 7c. To this carriage 7b, there are pivotally fitted twopairs (sets) of upper and lower traveling rollers 7j, 7j which arearranged in the forward and backward directions and which are made toroll in accordance with the traveling of the carriage 7b in a state ofsandwiching the X rail 8 from the above and below.

The X rail 8 has a traveling drive rack (not shown) formed along itslongitudinal direction. Further, the carriage 7b is equipped with apinion (not shown) which is geared with that rack to be rotationallydriven by a traveling drive motor 7k.

Moreover, to an upper end side of the vertical column 7c, there arepivotally fitted two pairs (sets) of upper and lower guide rollers 7m,7m which are arranged in the forward and backward directions and whichare made to roll in accordance with the traveling of the carriage 7b ina state of horizontally sandwiching the top rail 12.

Thus, when the traveling drive motor 7k rotationally drives the pinion,with the pinion and the traveling drive rack being engaged with eachother, the whole accessor 7 is moved along the unit coupling directions(X direction) along the X rail 8 and the top rail 12. Further, when theelevating drive motor 7i rotates the aforesaid belt, the whole handassembly 7a is moved in the vertical directions (Y direction) along thevertical column 7c. In this way, the hand assembly 7a (the pickersection 7g including the hand mechanism 7d) moves to a given positionwithin a plane including the X rail 8 and the vertical column 7c to bepositioned thereat.

[3] Description of Locker Structure and Locker Installation Procedure

[3-1] Description of Locker Frame Structure

Each of the units 2A, 2B and 3 to 6 organizing the library apparatus 1or 1' according to this embodiment is constructed as being a locker 20shown in FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing aframe structure of the locker 20, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showingwelded portions in the frame structure of the locker 20, and FIG. 7 is aperspective view showing the locker 20.

As shown in FIG. 5, the frame structure of the locker 20 constitutingthe library apparatus 1, 1' according to this embodiment is made up of alocker base 21, a top board 22, front side sheet metal columns 23, 23installed vertically at corner portions between the locker base 21 andthe top board 22, and rear side sheet metal columns 24, 24 similarlyinstalled vertically therebetween. In this case, all the sheet metalcolumns 23, 24 of the locker 20 composing the various units 2A, 2B and 3to 6 have the same standardized structure (configuration). In moredetail, the respective sheet metal columns 23, 24 undergo thebending-formation to protrude toward the exterior of the locker 20 intoa convexity.

Each of the sheet metal columns 23 has two projecting portions 23a andtwo projecting portions 23b at its upper and lower end sections, whileeach of the sheet metal columns 24 has two projecting portions 24a andtwo projecting portions 24b at its upper and lower end sections.

And not only that, the base 21 and the top board 22 have positioningrectangular or square holes (positioning holes) 21a, 22a, respectively.

Each of the rectangular holes 21a, 22a is two in number in terms of eachof the sheet metal columns 23, 24, and the projecting portions 23a, 23bof the sheet metal column 23 are respectively fitted in the rectangularholes 21a, 22a while the projecting portions 24a, 24b of the sheet metalcolumn 24 are fitted in the rectangular holes 21a, 22a, so that thesheet metal columns 23, 24 are positioned with respect to the lockerbase 21 and the top board 22.

Besides, in the locker 20, the rack support (supporting member) 11 sitson the locker base 21 in the locker coupling directions, and referencepins 21b, 21b for positioning the rack support 11 are planted on theupper surfaces of both end portions of the locker base 21, respectively.

Both end portions of the rack support 11 have positioning holes 11a,11a, respectively, and the reference pins 21b, 21b on the locker base 21are engaged with these positioning holes 11a, 11a, so that the racksupport 11, that is, the X rail 8 born by this rack support 11, ispositioned with respect to the locker base 21.

In addition, reference pins 22b, 22b for positioning the top rail 12 areprotrusively disposed on the lower surface of both end portions of thetop board 22. The top rail 12 is protrusively placed on a bearing plate25 as shown in FIG. 1 or 13, and is attached through this bearing plate25 to the lower surface of the top board 22. Further, in a manner thatthe front side end edge of the bearing plate 25 is brought into contactwith the reference pins 22b, 22b, the bearing plate 25, that is, the toprail 12, is positioned in relation to the top board 22.

As mentioned above, when the projecting portions 23a, 23b, 24a, 24bformed to protrude from the upper and lower end portions of the sheetmetal columns 23, 24 are respectively fitted in the positioning angularholes 21a, 22a made in the locker base 21 and the top board 22, thesheet metal columns 23, 24 are positioned with respect to the lockerbase 21 and the top board 22, thus insuring the sufficient dimensionalaccuracy at every frame structure of the locker 20 creating variousunits. Accordingly, the cartridge 10 can certainly be inserted andextracted into/from the storage rack 13 or the deck through the use ofthe accessor 7.

In addition, the reference pins 21b, 22b set protrusively on the lockerbase 21 and the top board 22 can accurately position the X rail 8 andtop rail 12 for guiding the accessor 7 with respect to the locker base21 and top board 22 organizing the frame structure of the locker 20.More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, owing to the dimension A betweenthe reference pin 22b and the rectangular hole 22a and the dimension Bbetween the reference pin 21b and the rectangular hole 21a, the top rail12 and the X rail 8 are positioned with respect to the sheet metalcolumns 23, and further, due to the connection between the top board 22and the locker base 21 through the sheet metal columns 23, the dimensionbetween the X rail and the top rail 12 is accurately insurable. For thisreason, it is possible to ensure the positional accuracy of the accessor7, thereby enhancing the certainty of the insertion/extraction of thecartridge 10 in relation to the storage rack 13 and the deck.

In the locker 20 according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, therespective sheet metal columns 23, 24 disposed to be positioned betweenthe top board 22 and the locker base 21 as described above are fixedlywelded to the top board 22 and the locker base 21 from the inside of thelocker 20. Although FIG. 6 shows only the welded sections 26 between therear side sheet metal columns 24 and the locker base 21, the welding ismade in a similar way between the front side sheet metal columns 23 andthe locker base 21 and between the sheet metal columns 23, 24 and thetop board 22 from the inside of the locker 20.

In the case of connecting the top board or the locker base with therespective columns by means of a welding technique, the welding has sofar been done from the outside of the respective columns, i.e., from theouter surface sides of the respective columns, and therefore, thewelding beads protrude outwardly to impair the smoothness of the outersurfaces of the locker frame structure, which causes the locker volumeor the installation area increase to deteriorate the storage efficiencyof the library apparatus not to meet the requirements for the sizereduction of the library apparatus.

Contrary to this prior art, according to this embodiment, a look at FIG.6 shows that, because of the welding from the inside of the locker 20,the projections of the welded sections (welding beads) 26 toward theexterior of the locker 20 are avoidable, thus smoothing the outersurfaces of the frame structure of the locker 20.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, side boards 27, 28 for covering thefront and rear sides of the frame structure of the locker 20 are allowedto have a considerable thin thickness and the separation between thelockers 20 disposed to be adjacent to each other is reducible to lessenthe dead spaces, and hence, the volume and installation area of thelocker 20 are reducible to remarkably improve the storage efficiency andfurther to achieve the size reduction of the library apparatus 1, 1'.

Besides, because of employing the sheet metal columns 23, 24, thedimensional accuracy of the locker frame structure is improvable toallow the cartridge 10 to be surely inserted and extracted in relationto the storage rack 13 or the deck.

[3-2] Description of Arrangement of Locker

Furthermore, referring to FIGS. 8 to 17, a description will be madehereinbelow of an arrangement of each of the lockers 20 having the framestructure described above and further of an installation procedure ofthe locker 20. For the description, the locker 20 constituting the CSU 4will be taken as one example.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view showing the locker 20 constituting theCSU 4 according to this embodiment and FIG. 9 is an illustration takenalong a line IX--IX of FIG. 8. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the storagerack 13 having a large number of cells 13a are set onto a rear side (theright side in FIG. 8) wall surface of the locker 20 organizing the CSU4. In FIG. 9, the storage rack 13 is omitted from the illustration.

Furthermore, at a lower section of the rear side of the locker 20, thereare situated a cable duct 30 for accommodating and guiding various kindsof cables (not shown) for the wiring within the library apparatus 1, 1'and a duct cover 31 for covering the entire cable duct 30 from theabove.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the cable duct 30 isdivided into three sections (end sections 30a, 30c and a central section30b) along the coupling directions (left and right directions in FIG. 9)of the lockers 20. Further, a central section (fixed cable duct) 30b ofthe three divisions of the cable duct 30 is fixed to the locker 20,whereas both the end sections (detachable cable ducts) 30a, 30c aredetachably attached to the locker 20 as shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is anexploded perspective view showing a principal portion of the locker 20(CSU 4) for explaining a structure of the cable duct in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the detachable cable duct 30a is fixedly fitted tothe body of the locker 20 and an end portion of the fixed cable duct 30bthrough fitting screws 32, 32 penetrating holes 30d, 30d made in itsboth end portions. The detachable cable duct 30c is also fitted to thelocker 20 as well as the detachable cable duct 30a.

Furthermore, by detaching the detachable cable ducts 30a, 30c, base legs33 set to the rear side lower surface of the locker 20 and top portionsof casters 34 appear.

The casters 34 are used in moving the locker 20, and the base legs 33are placed into contact with the installation surface of the locker 20for adjusting the inclination of the locker 20. In a manner of rotatingthe base legs 33 themselves, the base legs 33 extend and contract withrespect to the locker 20 to adjust the height of the rear side sectionof the locker 20.

Still further, the rack support 11 for bearing the X rail 8 is placed onthe front side (left side in FIG. 8) lower section of the locker 20 inthe locker coupling directions as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 8. Inaddition, positioning grooves 11b each accepting a bar-like tool 35 (seeFIG. 12) at the positioning relative to the adjacent locker 20 areformed in both end portions of the rack support 11 in the lockercoupling directions as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. FIGS. 11A and 11B arerespectively plan and side elevational views showing the end portion ofthe rack support 11 in this embodiment. FIG. 11B corresponding to anillustration of a portion indicated by an arrow XIb of FIG. 11A.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, in the vicinity of the rack support 11,a position flag (flag member) 36 is located which is used when theaccessor 7 recognizes the position at operation.

As shown in FIGS. 16A to 16C, this position flag 36 is previouslyfixedly fitted to a flag fitting member 37 through a fitting screw 36a,and in this embodiment, the flag fitting member 37 is attached through aseating 38 at a given position near the rack support 11 through the useof a fitting screw 39 screwed in downwardly from a vertical direction.FIGS. 16A to 16C are respectively a front elevational view, a sideelevational view and a plan view showing the position flag 36 and itsfitting structure in this embodiment, and FIG. 16B corresponds to anillustration of a portion indicated by an arrow XVIb in FIG. 16A, whileFIG. 16C corresponds to an illustration of a portion indicated by anarrow XVIc in FIG. 16A.

Still further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, tie plates 40 for fixedlycoupling this locker 20 to the locker located to be adjacent thereto arefitted at the upper and lower portions of the rear side sheet metalcolumns 24, 24 of the locker 20 and the upper portions of the front sidesheet metal columns 23, 23, i.e., at six portions in total.

As shown in FIGS. 17A to 17C, each of the tie plates 40 is fittedthrough a pair of upper and lower fitting bolts 40b in a state where thesheet metal column 23 or 24 is interposed between the tie plate 40 and aplate nut 42. That is, the plate nut 42 is fitted to the innercircumferential surface side of the sheet metal column 23 or 24 througha fixing screw 42a, and the tie plate 40 located on the outercircumferential surface side of the sheet metal column 23 or 24 is fixedby being tightened by the fitting bolts 40b with respect to the platenut 42. Besides, the tie plates 40 and the sheet metal columns 23, 24have a hole (not shown) through which each of the fitting bolts 40bpasses.

A fixed nut 40a is fitted to each of the tie plates 40. In a state wherethe lockers 20, 20 to be coupled to each other are disposed to beadjacent to each other, the tie plates 40 of the respective lockers 20are brought close to each other, and the fixing bolts 41 are insertedand tightened with respect to the fixed nuts 40a, 40a of the adjacenttie plates 40, 40, thus accomplishing the connection between the lockers20, 20 in a fixing way.

FIGS. 17A to 17C are respectively a front elevational view, a sideelevational view and a plan view showing the tie plates 40 and theconnected condition thereof, and FIG. 17B corresponds to an illustrationof a portion indicated by an arrow XVIIb in FIG. 17A while FIG. 17Ccorresponds to an illustration of a portion indicated by an arrow XVIIcin FIG. 17A.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 13, plane reference plates 43 are fittedthrough pairs of upper and lower fitting bolts 43c, 43c to the frontside sheet metal columns 23 of the locker 20, and each is composed of avertical surface 43a parallel to the locker coupling directions and anedge surface 43b perpendicular to the locker coupling directions. Thevertical surface 43a of each of the plane reference plates 43 is used asa reference surface at the positioning with respect to the adjacentlocker 20 as will be described herein later with reference to FIGS. 14Aand 14B.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the top rail 12 isattached through the bearing plate 25 to the lower surface of the topboard 22 while being positioned with the reference pins 22b. FIG. 13 isa perspective view showing a connecting section of the locker 20, lookedup from the internal side, for describing the plane reference plates 43and the connected section of the top rail 12. In FIG. 13, the tie plates40 are omitted from the illustration.

As shown in FIG. 13, a projecting portion 12a is formed on one end sideof the top rail 12 while a recess portion 12b is formed on the other endside of the top rail 12, and for the connection between the top rails12, 12 of the lockers 20, 20 disposed to be adjacent to each other,these projecting portions 12a are fitted in the recess portions 12b.

In addition, the bearing plate 25 has elongated holes 25a made along thelocker coupling directions, and by tightening fitting screws 25bpenetrating the elongated holes 25a, the bearing plate 25 is fixed tothe lower surface of the top board 22. Further, in a state where thefitting screws 25b are inserted into the elongated holes 25a and thebearing plate 25 is temporarily fitted to the lower surface of the topboard 22, the bearing plate 25 is made to be slidable in the lockercoupling directions by a quantity corresponding to the pitch of theprojecting portion 12a and the recess portion 12b of the top rail 12.

[3-3] Description of Locker Installation Procedure

Moreover, referring to the respective figures, a description will bemade hereinbelow of a work procedure involving items (1) to (13) takenfor when installing and coupling the various units 2A, 2B and 3 to 6each being constructed with the above-described lockers 20.

For the installation of the lockers 20, for instance, the separationbetween the adjacent lockers 20, 20 in the X direction is set to be 4mm. This separation depends upon the pitch of the rack (gear) formed onthe X rail 8. Further, the alignment between the adjacent lockers 20, 20in the Y and Z directions is basically conducted by the alignmentbetween the center positions of the X rails 8.

(1) In order to arrange a plurality of lockers 20 straightforwardly, areference line is first drawn on the installation surface (floorsurface) for the library apparatus 1 or 1'.

(2) In this embodiment, the locker 20 constituting the TMU 5 is taken asa reference locker and this locker 20 for the TMU 5 is installed at agiven position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the detachable cableducts 30a, 30c are removed to make the base legs 33 appear, and the baselegs 33 are rotationally operated to come into contact with theinstallation surface and further to adjust the heights (the degrees ofextension) of the base legs 33 so that the locker base 21 of the TMU 5(i.e., the X-Z plane of the TMU 5) is adjusted to assume the horizontalcondition.

(3) The lockers 20 (the CSU 4 in the case of the library apparatus 1'shown in FIG. 2) to be coupled to both sides of the TMU 5 are situatedon both the sides of the TMU 5, and in this state, the positionaladjustment and the adjustment of the deflection of the X rail 8 (theinclination of the lockers 20) are made as follows.

(3-1) For the disposition of the locker 20 to be coupled to the TMU 5,the position thereof in the X direction is adjusted so that theseparations between the front side sheet metal columns 23 thereof andthe front side sheet metal columns 23 of the TMU 5 take 4 mm.

(3-2) As shown in FIG. 12, through the use of a scale (a linear membersuch as a metallic scale) 44 or a level (not shown), the position of thelocker 20 to be coupled in the Y direction is adjusted by the adjustmentof the heights (extension degrees) of the base legs 33 so that the uppersurface of the rack support 11 of the TMU 5 and the upper surface of therack support 11 of the locker 20 to be coupled are in the same plane.This positional adjustment in the Y direction makes the position of thelocker 20 to be coupled additionally adjustable so that the X-Z plane(the plane perpendicular to the Y direction) of the locker 20 takes thehorizontal condition.

(3-3) As shown in FIG. 12, the locker 20 to be coupled is shifted suchthat the bar-like tool 35 is mounted on both the positioning grooves11b, 11b of the rack supports 11, 11 to be fitted therein, whichaccomplishes the adjustment of the rack supports 11, 11 in the Zdirection concurrently with performing the adjustment of the locker 20to be coupled so that the Y-Z plane (the planes normal to the Xdirection) of the locker 20 gets into a parallel relation to the Y-Zplane of the TMU 5. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing end portionsof the rack supports 11, 11 disposed to be adjacent to each other forexplaining a method of positioning between the lockers 20, 20 based uponthe rack supports 11, 11.

(3-4) As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the scale (a linear member such asa metallic scale) 45 is placed to be mounted on both the plane referenceplates 43, 43 fitted to the front side sheet metal columns 23, 23 andfurther to be brought into contact with the vertical surfaces 43a, 43athereof, and is moved to slide thereon for adjusting the heights (theextension degrees) of the base legs 33 so that these vertical surfaces43a, 43a are in the same plane. Whereupon, the position of the locker 20to be coupled is adjustable so that the X-Y plane (the planesperpendicular to the Z direction) of the locker 20 becomes parallel tothe X-Y plane of the TMU 5.

For instance, in case where the X-Y plane of the locker 20 (CSU 4) to becoupled is inclined with respect to the X-Y plane of the TMU 5 as shownin FIG. 14B or 15, with the above-described adjustment whereby thevertical surfaces 43a, 43a of the plane reference plates 43, 43 are inthe same plane as shown in FIG. 14A, the inclination is eliminable.

At this time, if the adjustment is made through the use of thesurface(s) of the sheet metal column(s) 23 without fitting the planereference plates 43, the scale 45 runs on the bending-formed cornerportions of the sheet metal column 23 at the sliding movements, with theresult that difficulty is encountered to finely adjust the position ofthe locker 20 to be coupled.

In this embodiment, owing to the fitting of the plane reference plate 43having the edge surface 43b, even if the X-Y plane of the locker 20 tobe coupled is in a slightly inclined condition with respect to the X-Yplane of the TMU 5, the end surface of the scale 45 comes into contactwith the edge surface 43b to allow the detection of that inclination,and therefore, the fine adjustment of the position of the locker 20 tobe coupled becomes easily feasible.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are illustrations useful for describing a positioningway based upon the plane reference plate 43 in this embodiment, whileFIG. 15 is a perspective view illustratively showing the lockers 20 forexplaining a method of adjusting the verticality of the lockersaccording to this embodiment.

(4) After the completion of the above-described positional adjustmentand inclination adjustment of the locker 20, the X rail 8 having alength substantially equal to that of the locker 20 in the X directionis disposed to be mounted on both the rack supports 11, 11 of the TMU 5and the locker 20 to be coupled in a state of being shifted by 1/3 of apitch with respect to the locker 20 to be set to these rack supports 11,11, thereby accomplishing the connection between the rack supports 11,11.

(5) As shown in FIG. 13, after the fitting screws 25b of the bearingplate 25 in the locker 20 under the coupling are loosened, the bearingplate 25 is moved to slide along the elongated holes 25a so that theprojecting portion 12a of the top rail 12 of the TMU 5 engages with therecess portion 12b of the top rail of the locker 20 under the coupling,thus establishing the connection between these top rails 12, 12.Thereafter, the fitting screws 25b are retightened to fix the bearingplate 25, i.e., the top rail 12.

(6) The procedure involving the above-described items (3) to (5) isrepeatedly done to successively make the connections between theadjacent lockers 20.

(7) After all the lockers 20 are disposed and coupled to each otherthrough the X rails 8 in accordance with the above-described procedure,as shown in FIGS. 17A to 17C, the tie plates 40, 40 are connected toeach other through the fixing bolt 41 by tightening the fixing bolt 41,thus achieving the connection and fixing among all the lockers 20.

(8) The detachable cable ducts 30a, 30c of each of all the lockers 20are again set in place and, then, fixedly fitted by the fitting screws32.

(9) The cables (not shown) are housed within the cable duct 30 and thecable forming is done.

(10) As shown in FIG. 9, the duct cover 31 is set to the cable duct 30.

(11) The position flag 36 is fitted through the flag fitting member 37and the seating 38 at a given position (see FIG. 8) near the racksupport 11 by the fitting screw 39 set vertically and downwardly fromthe above.

(12) The accessor 7, the mechanism (not shown) associated with theaccessor 7, an X cable (not shown) connected to the accessor 7, andothers are located within the locker 20.

(13) External cables of the library apparatus 1 or 1' are put intoconnections.

As described above, in the library apparatus 1, 1', in making theconnection between the adjacent lockers 20, 20, the bar-like tool 35 ismounted on both the positioning grooves 11b, 11b of the rack supports11, 11 to be fitted therein in a state where the rack supports 11, 11are placed in an opposed relation to each other, so that the racksupports 11, 11 are positioned in terms of the direction (Y-Z plane)perpendicular to the locker coupling direction (X direction), with theresult that not only the connection accuracy and positioning accuracyamong a plurality of lockers 20 are insurable, but also the linearity ofthe rails is achievable.

Furthermore, in making the connection between the adjacent lockers 20,20, the verticality of the lockers 20 relative to the installationsurface is adjusted while the scale 45 is mounted on both the planereference plates 43, 43 on the two adjacent sheet metal columns 23, 23and brought into contact therewith in a state where the two lockers 20,20 are disposed to be adjacent to each other, so that these two lockers20, 20 can stand at the same verticality, thus ensuring the connectionaccuracy and positioning accuracy among a plurality of lockers 20.

Accordingly, this makes it possible for the accessor 7 to surely carryout the insertion/extraction of the cartridge 10 into/from the storagerack 13 or the deck.

Moreover, in a manner that the fitting screw 32 is vertically insertedfrom the above, the position flag 26 can easily be set in a narrowportion near the rack support 11, and in a way of removing thedetachable cable ducts 30a, 30c, the base legs 33 and others locatedunder the cable duct 30 are easily adjustable, which sharply enhance theinstallation work efficiency of the lockers 20.

[3-4] Description of AEU

The library apparatus 1' is, as shown in FIG. 2A, provided with an AEU6. As shown in FIG. 18, this AEU 6 includes a power supply 16 forsupplying an operating power to the accessor 7 and a controller 17 fortaking the charge of the control of the accessor 7.

The locker 20 for the AEU 6 has a passage section 20a constituting apassage (accessor operating area) 9 in which the accessor 7 travels, anda gate 47 fitted through hinges 46 to the passage section 20a to berotatable by 90 degrees. Further, the power supply 16 is placed at alower section of the gate 47 while two shelves 48 are provided at anupper section of the gate 47. Each of the shelves 48 accepts a pluralityof control printed-circuit boards 49 organizing the controller 17.

The maintenance and replacement of the power supply 16 and the controlprinted-circuit boards 49 are done in a state indicated by a solid linein FIG. 18 without the need for opening the gate 47. Further, in thecase of performing the maintenance of the accessor 7 waiting within thepassage section 20a (passage 9) of the AEU 6, or in the case ofreplacing a back panel 50 (see FIG. 19A) accommodating the controlprinted-circuit boards 49, the gate 47 is rotated by 90 degrees to open,as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 18.

As shown in FIG. 19A, the back panel 50 is attached to the rear surfaceof each of the shelves 48. In a prior art, the back panel 50 has beenattached thereto by fixing screws or the like not only in a directionperpendicular to the surface of the back panel 50 but also in adirection (a direction normal to the side surface of the shelf 48)parallel to that surface. However, the gate 47 is limited in its widthand depth, and if two shelves 48 are disposed in line on the gate 47 asshown in FIG. 18, in the case of the prior fitting structure of the backpanel 50, the maintenance and replacement of the back panel 50 becomeextremely difficult.

For this reason, in this embodiment, the inserting direction of fixingscrews 52 for attaching the back panel 50 to the shelf 48 is limitedonly to directions perpendicular to the back panel 50.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 19A, the fixing screws 52 to be setalong the vertical directions of the back panel 50 penetrate the backpanel 50 and, then, are engaged with taps 48b of a flange section 48aformed on the rear surface side of the shelf 48, thereby fixedlysecuring the back panel 50 to the shelf 48.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, a plurality of (3 in theillustration) reinforcing guide bars 51 are transversely fitted to theback panel 50, and the fixing screws 52 to be set along the left andright directions of the back panel 40 penetrate the back panel 50 andend portions of the reinforcing guide bars 51 and are engaged with taps53a of fixed nut plates 53 fitted to the inner side of the rear wall ofthe shelf 48, thereby fixedly securing the back panel 50 to the shelf48.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustratively showing the AEU 6 (locker20) having the shelves 48 in this embodiment, and FIGS. 19A and 19B arerespectively an exploded perspective view showing the fitting structurefor the back panel 50 on the shelf 48 in this embodiment and is across-sectional view of a principal portion showing the fittingcondition of the back panel 50.

As described above, in the AEU 6 of the library apparatus 1' accordingto this embodiment, since only one direction (a direction perpendicularto the back panel 50) is taken as the inserting direction of the fixingscrew 52 for the attachment of the back panel 50, theattaching/detaching work of the back panels 50 becomes easy, with theresult that the work efficiency can remarkably improve when carrying outthe maintenance and replacement of the back panel 50 to each of theshelves 48.

[4] Description of Reference Flag and Diagnostic Cell

Referring to FIGS. 20 to 26, a description will be made hereinbelow of areference flag and a diagnostic cell placed in the LAU 2A in thisembodiment. Although the same reference flag and diagnostic cell arealso provided in the RAU 2B and the AEU 6, the description here will betaken of only the LAU 2A.

FIG. 20 is a side elevational view showing the LAU 2A including thereference flag and the diagnostic cell in this embodiment, FIG. 21 is afront elevational view showing an inner wall surface of the LAU 2A withthe reference flag and the diagnostic cell in this embodiment, and FIG.22 is a plan view showing the interior of the LAU 2A with the referenceflag and the diagnostic cell in this embodiment. Of these drawings, FIG.21 is an illustration taken along a line XXI--XXI of FIG. 20 and FIG. 22is an illustration taken along a line XXII--XXII of FIG. 20. Further,FIG. 23 is a front elevational view showing the reference flag and thediagnostic cell in this embodiment, FIG. 24 is an illustration of aportion indicated by an arrow XXIV in FIG. 23, FIG. 25 is anillustration of a portion indicated by an arrow XXV in FIG. 23, and FIG.26 is a perspective view schematically showing the reference flag andthe diagnostic cell in this embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 20 to 22, placed in the interior of the LAU 2A are areference flag 60 to be read out through a photosensor (photoelectricsensor; not shown) on the accessor 7 side for detecting the absoluteposition of the accessor 7, and a diagnostic cell structure 61 into andfrom which a diagnostic cartridge 62 (see FIG. 20) is inserted andextracted by the accessor 7 to verify the operation of the accessor 7.

In addition to the aforesaid photosensor, the hand assembly 7a of theaccessor 7 is equipped with a bar code reader (not shown) for readingout a bar code adhered to the cartridge 10.

The diagnostic cartridge 62 is for the purpose of verifying theoperation of the accessor 7 as mentioned above, and is firmly made fromiron or other materials to be substantially equal in configuration andweight to the cartridge 10.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 23 to 26, theinsertion/extraction of the cartridge 10 into/from the storage rack 13or the deck are made at two different angles (0° and 12°) as mentionedbefore, and hence, in the diagnostic cell structure 61, diagnostic cells61a, 61b are constructed corresponding to the respective angles 0° and12°.

A reference flag label adhering member 63 is integrally and fixedlyfitted to a lower portion of the diagnostic cell structure 61. Thisreference flag label adhering member 63 has an adhering surface 63a forthe insertion/extraction angle 0° and an adhering surface 63b for 12°,and a reference flag label 60a for 0° and a reference flag label 60b for12°, which serve as the reference flag 60, are adhered to the adheringsurfaces 63a, 63b, respectively.

In this embodiment, the reference flag 60 and the diagnostic cellstructure 61 are disposed to be brought close to each other andintegrated with each other in the above-mentioned way.

A bar code label adhering member 64 is fitted integrally to an upperportion of the diagnostic cell structure 61, and bar code labels 65, 66for diagnosing the reading operation of the bar code reader on theaccessor 7 side are adhered to the bar code label adhering member 64.

Two integrated structures 59 each comprising the reference flag 60 andthe diagnostic cell structure 61 shown in FIGS. 23 to 26 are providedwithin the LAU 2A, and these integrated structures 59 are, as shown inFIGS. 20 to 22, disposed at a lower central portion of the LAU 2A in anopposed relation to each other in a state where the passage 9 for theaccessor 7 is interposed therebetween. The integrated structure 59 onthe front side of the LAU 2A (the left side in FIG. 20) is located rightabove the FES 15.

Moreover, a master label 65 is adhered as a bar code label to the barcode label adhering member 64 of the integrated structure 59 on thefront side of the LAU 2A, while a diagnostic label 66 is adhered as abar code label to the bar code label adhering member 64 of theintegrated structure 59 on the rear side (the right side in FIG. 20) ofthe LAU 2A.

In this case, the master label 65 is read out by the bar code reader ofthe accessor 7 in order to verify the reading operation of the bar codereader, while the diagnostic label 66 is read out by the bar code readerof the accessor 7 in order to check whether or not the reading position(fitting position of the bar code reader) by the bar code reader is in agiven range.

Incidentally, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, a reference flag adheringmember 67 is placed right above the integrated structure 59 on the rearside of the LAU 2A, and a reference flag label 68 for 12° is adhered tothe reference flag adhering member 67.

Furthermore, when adjusting the fitting positions of the reference flag60 and the diagnostic cell structure 61 with respect to the X rail 8, asshown in FIG. 26, three portions: left and right portions of the frontsurface of the diagnostic cell structure 61 and a side surface of thereference flag label adhering member 63, are used as adjustment strikeportions 69a to 69c.

In this embodiment, with the above-described arrangement, the referenceflag 60 and the diagnostic cell structure 61 are integrated with eachother into the integrated structure 59, and therefore, as compared withthe prior art, its structure can extremely be simplified, and if thepositional adjustment (accuracy adjustment) is done in terms of eitherthe reference flag 60 or the diagnostic cell structure 61, thepositional adjustment for both can automatically be accomplished.

Thus, it is possible to ensure the specification accuracy (for example,the demand accuracy ±0.5 mm from the X rail 8) of the reference flag 60and the diagnostic cell structure 61 while simplifying the accuracyadjustment of the reference flag 60 and the diagnostic cell structure61. Whereupon, the error correction can certainly be made at the initialstage (initial operation), which allows the certain insertion/extractionof the cartridge 10 into/from the storage rack 13 or the deck.

In addition, since the reference flag 60 and the diagnostic cellstructure 61 have the integral construction in a state of being broughtclose to each other, the moving distance (the distance between thereference flag 60 and the diagnostic cell structure 61) of the accessor7 at the initial operation can extremely be shortened, therebyremarkably reducing the time needed for the initial operation of theaccessor 7.

[5] Description of Positional Correction Relative Flag Structure

Furthermore, referring to FIGS. 27A to 30, a description will be madehereinbelow of a positional correction relative flag structure for usein the CSU 4 in this embodiment.

FIGS. 27A to 27C are respectively a plan view, a side elevational viewand a front elevational view each showing a positional correctionrelative flag structure in this embodiment. Of these drawings, FIG. 27Bcorresponds to an illustration of a portion indicated with an arrowXXVIIb in FIG. 27A and FIG. 27C corresponds to an illustration of aportion indicated with an arrow XXVIIc in FIG. 27A. Further, FIGS. 28and 29 are respectively a side elevational view and a front elevationalview each showing a state where the positional correction relative flagstructure in this embodiment is located within a cell 13a of thecartridge storage rack 13, and FIG. 30 is an illustration available fordescribing the improvement effects of the cartridge storage efficiencyattainable as a result of the use of the positional correction relativeflag structure in this embodiment as compared with a prior structure.

As shown in FIGS. 27A to 27C, a positional correction relative flagstructure 70 in this embodiment is for correcting the position of thestorage rack 13 with respect to the accessor 7, and is equipped with abody section 71 which is made to be inserted into a cell 13a of thestorage rack 13 to be closely fixed to the cell 13a.

This body section 71 is of a sheet metal having an external shapesimilar to the cartridge 10 being stored in the cell 13a, and fitted toa front end surface 71g of the body section 71 is a relative flag 72which is read out by a photosensor (not shown) on the accessor 7 sidefor the correction of the position of the storage rack 13.

In addition, attached to the body section 71 are pair of left and rightplate springs (a biasing mechanism) 73, 73 which protrude upwardly fromthe body section 71. As shown in FIG. 29, the cell 13a is constructed bybeing divided into left and right sections to hold both sides of thecartridge 10 or the relative flag structure 70. As shown in FIGS. 28 and29, each of the plate springs 73 is made to elastically deform by cominginto contact with a ceiling surface of the cell 13a holding the sideportions of the relative flag structure 70 when the body section 71 isinserted into the cell 13a, thereby functioning to allow a lower surface(a closely contacting surface in the Y direction) 71b of the bodysection 71 to be brought closely into contact with the cell 13a.

Furthermore, when inserting the body section 71 into the cell 13a andfixing it therein, a side surface 71a of the body section 71 is used asa closely contacting surface in the X direction and is brought closelyinto contact with the right side of the cell 13a as shown in FIG. 29 andfurther a pair of left and right backward projecting portions 71c, 71cformed on the rear end portion of the body section 71 to protrudetherefrom are used as Z-direction closely contacting portions and areplaced closely into contact with a cell plate 13b as shown in FIG. 28.

In this state, a contact portion 71d similarly protrusively formed onthe rear end portion of the body section 71 is placed closely intocontact with the cell plate 13b, as shown in FIG. 28. Further, a fixingscrew 74 is set to penetrate a notch portion 71e made in the contactportion 71d and is tightened with respect to the cell plate 13b, so thatthe relative flag structure 70 is closely fixed to the cell 13a.

Besides, a Z-direction strike portion 71f is protrusively provided onthe front end portion of the body section 71. In a manner of bringingthe hand mechanism 7d of the accessor 7 into contact with theZ-direction strike portion 71f, it is possible to recognize the positionin the depth direction (Z direction).

In this embodiment, the relative flag structure 70 described above isinserted into and placed in at least three cells 13a of the storage rack13, and at the initial operation, the accessor 7 reads out the threerelative flags 72 thereof through the use of a photosensor to know theposition of the entire storage rack 13 to recognize the compartments ofall the cells as a plane, and further creates meshes by the number ofthe cells to retain the center coordinates of the compartments of therespective cells 13a as a table.

Thereafter, the accessor 7 reads out the center coordinate of thecompartment of a given cell 13a from the table and carries out theinsertion/extraction of the cartridge 10 into/from the given cell 13a.Whereupon, the fitting dimension of the storage rack 13 is confirmablein terms of any one of the vertical directions (Y direction), the left-and right-hand directions (X direction) and the depth directions (Zdirection), and that dimension is insurable.

As mentioned above, according to the positional correction relative flagstructure 70 in this embodiment, the body section 71 to which therelative flag 72 is fitted is inserted into a cell 13a of the storagerack 13 and closely fixed in this cell 13a, and therefore, the relativeflag 72 can be disposed through the use of the cell 13a of the storagerack 13, thus suppressing the increase in the installation area andvolume of the locker 20 (CSU 4) occurring in conjunction with thelocation of the relative flag 72.

Accordingly, the cartridge storage efficiency can remarkably improve andthe size reduction of the library apparatus 1 or 1' is achievable. Inaddition, because shortening the distance between a plurality ofrelative flags 72 as compared with that in the prior art, it is possibleto considerably reduce the time necessary for the initial operation ofthe accessor 7.

For instance, as compared with a prior locker structure in which therelative flags 72 are placed on both external sides of the storage rack13 as shown in an upper section of FIG. 30, the locker structureemploying the relative flag structure 70 of this embodiment shown in alower section of FIG. 30 is reducible by dimensions A1, A2 at its bothsides, thus remarkably reducing the functionally required locker areaand considerably shortening the moving distance of the accessor 7 at theinitial operation.

In addition, in the relative flag structure 70 of this embodiment, sincethe body section 71 is biased by the plate spring 73 to be broughtclosely into contact with the cell 13a, the body section 71, i.e., therelative flag 72, can accurately be positioned with respect to thestorage rack 13, thereby surely ensuring the dimension between therelative flag 72 and the compartment of the storage rack 13.

Moreover, since the relative flag structure 70 is put within the cell13a, the relative flag structure 70 is protected by the cell 13a,thereby surely preventing the relative flag structure 70 from beinginjured and deformed at the transportation of the CSU 4 (locker 20), andfurther enhancing the reliability.

What is claimed is:
 1. A positional correction relative-flag structurefor a cartridge storage rack in a library apparatus including each saidstorage rack accommodating a storage medium, a deck for access to saidstorage medium within the cartridge, and an accessor for transferringsaid cartridge between said storage unit and said deck, said positionalcorrection relative-flag structure, comprising: a body section which isinserted into a cell of said storage rack and is closely and fixedlyplaced in contact with said cell, a relative flag read out by a sensoron the accessor for the correction of the position of said storage rackbeing attached to an end surface of said body section whereby saidpositional correction relative-flag structure corrects a position ofsaid storage rack with respect to said accessor.
 2. A positionalcorrection relative-flag structure as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising a biasing mechanism for biasing said body section toward saidcell.
 3. A library apparatus comprising:a storage rack for storingcartridges, each said storage rack accommodating a storage medium; adeck for carrying out access to said storage medium within saidcartridge; and an accessor for transferring said cartridge between saidstorage rack and said deck, wherein said storage rack is provided with arelative flag used for correction of a position of said storage rackwith respect to said accessor.